Moods That Get In The Way Of Learning
Photograph by Jeshoots
Moods That Get In The Way Of Learning
If you look carefully, you will find that most failures of life are actually failures in learning. The loss of power happens in a refusal to learn.
So let us review certain kinds of moods that block learning, such as the mood of
Hurry that says “I have no time to learn, let’s get this over with”.
Irritation which is about “the lack of joy in engagement”.
Frustration which is “not being at peace with what's going on”.
Overwhelm which is “there is too much to learn without ever getting serious”.
Playing Small which says, “I can’t learn this, I am not smart enough”
And lastly a General Lack of Gratitude about the opportunity at being alive, and confronting the situation that you are confronting.
Other moods that block learning are self-blame, self-guilt, and have a general low assessment of yourself with a voice that says, “I am so silly, I am so stupid, and I never do anything right”.
It is a tragedy that the modern human being has access to more knowledge than ever before but has also developed a historical lack of joy. We moderns, take the learning process as a mechanism for extracting, acquiring, and retaining information like a functional exercise that needs to be done to get what you want.
But having no joy in encountering a new world, is encountering a new world, from the mood of a quant, that encounters anything new and disruptive, either with fear or resentment for the disruption or with the aim of extracting something useful as soon as possible.
Such a mood is about having serious resistance to the new world and new occurrences.
With this kind of mood, when we encounter something new, we forget to bring forth the mood of curiosity and wonder and joy and being so fortunate for having the opportunity to be a fighter in the fight. But if you are trapped in a vicious circle of bad moods, you would have no gratitude. None. None whatsoever, no joy, no pleasure. No curiosity. Zero curiosity.
These are the moods that don’t let you become a powerful human being. These are the moods that get in the way of you really totally immersing yourself in any domain that is of concern to you. These are the moods that keep you from participating in the concern at hand with a mood of joy and wonder. And limit your capacity to deal with painful situations, with curiosity, and maybe even rage that you would need, to move to action.
But you assume learning to be a waste of time, or have the assessment that learning wastes time. And maybe what you have called learning so far has been a waste of time. Maybe that is true. Maybe you were never really learning. Maybe you have been engaged in the business of getting degrees and certificates. Maybe you have been engaged in the business of getting your plans accomplished, of making a home or getting this or getting that, or achieving this and achieving that.
You may have spent years and years in schools and colleges and courses, but maybe there was no profound learning in such episodes. There was not a great deal of curiosity about the entire domain of engagement perhaps. And if you did learn something it would be the consequence of you taking some joy in the process of engagement with whatever you are learning.
As a matter of fact, wherever in life you may have learned something, you must have learned it with some inspiration that was brought forth consciously or unconsciously.
So it's not like you have never learned anything. You must have learned a great many things since you are in this conversation with me. So, I am not taking your learning away from you. But reminding you that whenever you learned something, the learning happened when you took some joy in it. And with joy that is not like exuberant happiness but more like a measured optimism.
Now I must also warn you about another stuck mood of confusion, that can emerge as a result of some initial insights, and can block further learning. This mood is “Oh I have just realized I know nothing about this situation or domain, and ah, how terrible is that I know nothing about this domain, and therefore I have no idea what to do.” Be aware of this mood.
The point isn't only that you realize you may not know something. The point is bringing forth the commitment to learning how to learn and learning about moods that get in the way of learning. You don’t want to be constantly in a state of peak anxiety and confusion and having no time to be bothered by learning. There is a disaster in that mood. You are assured to be crushed by the disaster. Even when you are in a dangerous situation where your life is at risk, or your work or your family is at risk, it is better to take a deep breath and assess the situation without too much optimism or too much pessimism. Then bring a mood of curiosity and engage fully with whatever is happening, instead of crying out loud “oh no, this disaster happened, and I am so helpless that I know nothing.”
Life will always bring you situations about which you know nothing. Your survival may depend on your ability to bring a mood of serenity, and learn and act in those situations.
With study and practice of skills with moods, you can surely develop a certain sensibility to observe the accidents of your life with a great deal of curiosity and see for what the situation is and move with power.
Such times are upon us that we may have to deal with many strange news, phenomena, people, and life situations. Our ability to bring forth moods for learning will determine the future course of our history.
In the moods that block learning, we miss all the important clues and cues and opportunities, and everything that is important. We miss it. So, our whole discourse today has really been about learning to attack the moods that get in the way of learning.
So let us close this gorgeous conversation by briefly articulating the importance of learning.
If you decline to learn and fail to build moods to learn, you are in defiance. If you are like this, fundamentally, you are living in defiance of the reality as it is. The reality is bringing you constant delights in the form of imagination, teachers, books, technologies, perspectives, and changing conditions. The universe conspires in your favor so you can have power. Learning is a doorway to power. Let this not be a secret anymore. The game of life is about building a house of moods where learning can happen. Learning is not a process of knowledge acquisition. It is a process of encountering new worlds, dancing with the new worlds, and curious participation in the new worlds.
And keep in mind, these are not one-time realizations. You may have to remind yourself again and again and give permission to others and request others to remind you and tell you when you get stuck in moods that are getting in the way of learning.
In Conclusion
Let us close this conversation with passages from a poem by Rumi called “Joy at sudden disappointment”.
If you knew yourself for even one moment,
if you could just glimpse
your most beautiful face,
maybe you wouldn’t slumber so deeply
in that house of clay.
Why not move into your house of joy
and shine into every crevice!
For you are the secret
Treasure-bearer,
and always have been.
Didn’t you know?
Whatever comes, comes from a need,
A sore distress, a hurting want.
Every part of you has a secret language.
Your hands and your feet say what you’ve done.
And every need brings in what’s needed.
Pain bears its cure like a child.
Having nothing produces provisions.
Ask a difficult question,
and the marvelous answer appears.
Build a ship, and there’ll be water
to float it. The tender-throated
infant cries and milk drips
from the mother’s breast.
Be thirsty for the ultimate water,
and then be ready for what will
come pouring from the spring.
The feeling of joy
when sudden disappointment comes.
Don’t grieve for what doesn’t come.
Some things that don’t happen
keep disasters from happening.
~Rumi (as translated by Coleman Barks)
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For further depth on this topic, I invite you to read an important book - “Learning to Learn and Navigation of Moods” by my good friend, Gloria Flores. It is a treat.
